Updates will appear at the bottom.
Tennessee is strummin’ on the old mandolin (or whatever that is) while Chumley comes up with his own cunning plan.
When we last left our heroes, Chumley was describing your mild-mannered author as, well:
“The Cancer in OC’s Democratic Party”
And soon, the hooded ghouls, anonymized to protect them from bullying, began to arrive and have their say! Let’s listen in!
snap; one email for the full $206 received 5 minutes after posting…..anyone else want to contribute so Greg can buy some snacks at the airport?
See, the joke is that people would like me to leave town — specifically, to move to Ferguson, Missouri so that I can hang out with African Americans facing police abuse. Some people with money would like me to leave town, get it? This is certain to work!
Greg Diamond
August 28, 2014 at 10:48 am
Thanks for the diagnosis of “cancer,” which coming from Dr. Backwards I take as a clean bill of health.
I’ll address the lies and negligent errors in an OJB post, to seek a wider (and wiser) audience, then will summarize those points here.
I can’t get to it really soon because I’m preparing for a ballot designation challenge against execrable Republican political operative Dave Ellis — the sort of thing that, in a well-functioning party apparatus in a jurisdiction of over 3,000,000, would not be left to a barely paid volunteer busy with other casework. More on that evidence of my supposed malignancy later.
Dan Chmielewski
August 28, 2014 at 12:04 pm
Lies and errors; I reviewed this piece with four long time Democrats before running it out and made some changes based on recommendations. One person even agreed with the steps I offered for reputation management rehab but said “he’s incapable of doing this.” You’ve proven this source right.
For those keeping score, Chumley thinks that if he checks facts — wait, he didn’t actually say that he did that — with “four long time Democrats” that that means that everything is OK. I really love the “reputation management” bit, though — that’s SO Chumley. Image over substance!
Sixteen comments at the moment, and six of them are from GD himself. Looks like your source who said “he’s incapable of [being humble, listening more than speaking, etc.]” was spot on. I’d call that person wise except that it didn’t take a lot of smarts to make that call.
Your article gives cancer a bad name!
Mr. C.
This is a well written piece. While I don’t see any benefit in “piling on”, it has to be said that your words are more than opinion.
I first met Greg Diamond three years ago. Like most I was impressed with his pedigree, his passion and seemingly unending knowledge of issues. It didn’t bother me that he had strong opinions, many of us who follow/participate in politics do.
But, reality began to set in and I began to notice you could never get a word in edgewise, if you disagreed on even the most trivial topics he would begin to berate you and even once accussed a party member of being a “bad Democrat”. He has since overused the term business Democrat to death.
The bottom line is I like many others are overcome with dread when we see him coming. He just seems to know it all and us “minions” who don’t agree be damned.
I LOVE Jeff, but it’s hard to believe as long as he’s looking over his shoulder, he will be anything more than a “might have been”.
The party would benefit GREATLY if Greg decided to take a long vacation and visit family in Manila. In fact, getting a motion passed for $5,000. To help him get there would be a SURE THING.
You’ve done an admirable job of maintaining your anonymity. Offhand, I can’t recall a Democrat I met three years ago with the name Alice, so this seems like just more of the anonymous attacks that Chmielewski hates passionately when it is directed at him. Thank you for your courage.
I expect that Chmielewski has used the term “Business Democrat” more than I have, with a different inflection. May I presume that you’re one — or are you afraid that that would give you away?
Thanks Alice; I’m getting lots of email and text messages in support of this piece as “spot on.” I’m asking people to comment here, people would rather let Greg wonder.
Greg’s candidacy for DA actually hurt the fundraising of his beloved SQS because once he went on the ballot more than one OC union decided to send money to T-Rack. Some of that money had been earmarked for SQS.
Two different sources have told me that SQS has asked Greg to stop associating himself with her campaign. Apparently his Trenta-sized ego won’t allow it.
Either that or he’s secretly opposed to her, a possibility that seems more and more likely each day.
What wrath do your fear from GD? What is there to be afraid of? That he is gonna talk your ear off for 45 minutes that you are a Corporate Dem? Or that he will write a 45,000 word post about you that no one will read because its too long and boring? OOOOHHHH I’m shaking in my boots!
Given that Racky had plenty of money, I highly doubt this — and if they did give him money (having endorsed him well before I even entered the race) it seems more like an offering to keep the wolf at bay.
To the best of my recollection (and I think I’d remember), neither Sharon nor anyone else associated with her campaign have ever told me, even once not to associate myself with her campaign. They wouldn’t need to, given that I never claim any association with her campaign other than favoring her and doing more to oppose her lightweight opponent than all but a few in OC.
Next anonymous rumor from a “profile in courage” to address? Let’s get them all out.
You aren’t the only person who has written me to tell me that sad tale.
Unless one of them was Sharon, Jesus, Jason, or Ed, they’re in no position to say. 1000 uninformed comments with a false rumor have no more weight than 1 — even if your profession sometimes involved drumming up the former.
By the way, I just took a look at your site stats. Congratulations! You have a 91.70% bounce rate — that being the number of people who come to the site and leave pretty much instantly. (OJB’s, by comparison, is currently 65%.) I don’t recall ever SEEING a bounce rate above 90% before. So, uh … keep it up?
And how much OJ traffic comes from those seeking news of a tasty breakfast beverage. Attacking our bounce rate doesn’t make what I wrote less true
August 31, 2014 at 9:05 pm
Sadly, Dan, I think you are for the most part correct. I say sadly because I think at one time the OJB, Greg and company did good work for good causes, and in many cases still do. But over the past several months, they’ve collectively become enamored of their ability to uncover the “hidden conspiracies” in way too many posts. Having an honest disagreement does not make one a co-conspirator with the nefarious behind the scenes powers that be. As Dr. Freud pointed out, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. There is way to much “what-if” thinking going on at the other blog and not enough “see the here and now and the way things are.” Their brush is getting way too broad.
I first had the great honor of voting in 1978 and in all that time have cast my vote for the Democrat in all but two races. As a middle class person who works for a living, I happen to think the Democratic Party by and large supports people who share my situation. But I must say, I’d have to think long and hard before I cast my vote for him, and that is unfortunate indeed.
I believe you are right about SQS. She won because she got out and connected with people. It didn’t hurt that Norby is one of the most ethically and intellectually challenged politicians OC has created since Tricky Dick himself. If she wins in November, it’ll be because she’s worked hard for her district, and certainly not because of GD or the OJB. Again, a sad situation for all concerned.
August 30, 2014 at 12:34 am
As a follower of the FFFF blog, I can’t help but remember when Greg Diamond got a nail in the tire of his Prius (an affliction that gets MILLIONS of Southern California drivers each year). Yet Diamond somehow twisted this into a conspiracy and in his coy, smarmy schoolboy way tried to blame other bloggers.
This guy appears to be a classic narcissist, certainly he is desperate for attention.
Now Greg, you can look me up. This is my REAL NAME. That said, theres no worming your way out of the critisisms.
Face it dude. You are just not that well liked in the DPOC circles. For that there is only one man to blame: YOU
Thanks, David. For your transparency, you get a respectful reply.
I got three of them (mostly not nails) embedded in my tires within a span of about six months. That hasn’t happened before or since. I didn’t write about the first one because one isn’t that unusual (although I hadn’t had one since 2007.)
As for being liked within DPOC, so long as one doesn’t upset the apple cart, and accepts degrees of corruption and betrayal of liberal interests from public officials, being liked within DC is pretty easy. I have some wonderful friends there, but overwhelming popularity among its members doesn’t motivate me. Helping them to turn the organization from a hamster wheel to a powerful political machine for both competing with the other major party and for keeping our own house in order — both generally failures so far — does motivate me.
Greg is at a South County fundraiser tonight. Must be tough to ask business Democrats to donate while showing much contempt for them
This is a wonderful example of the divide within the Orange County Democratic Party — and why it has such a terrible time motivating voters who aren’t already upper-middle-class or higher “post-materialists” — despite the massive and increasing income disparities within the county.
Chumley apparently misreads what I’m saying: I concede that OC’s Democratic Party tends to be better (from my perspective; YMMV) on LGBT issues, abortion, civil rights and and MOST civil liberties issues. My concern is that when you go beyond that — corruption, environment, consumer protection, and I didn’t even bother getting into income equity and reining in big banks, big Pharma, and Big much else — we’re way beyond where we ought to be, and where a large number of untapped voters would like us to be.
Chumley’s response is that his record is “on par with mine” on LGBT, reproductive rights, and civil rights issues. He’s probably wrong on the first two — where was he on the VROC participation in the Tet Parade? – as he seems to be of the “what other people do in and as a result of sex doesn’t pick my pocket” school, it’s close enough.
If he hasn’t criticized Sen. Lou Correa for his cuddly relationship with the private prison industry and the prison guards union that profits from others’ misery, he is not “on par” with me on civil rights. I have other examples.
He doesn’t mention civil liberties, which seems like a telling omission.
But, beyond that, his position is that being “pro business does not automatically mean your corrupt or hate the environment or abuse consumers.” That’s right — it’s not automatic, and there are plenty of local and national businesses that deserve praise for how well they serve these interests. But “not automatic” is literally as low as you can set the bar. Far too many anti-regulatory and mercantile interests do want the advantages of higher profits based on despoiling the environment and/or consumers — ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Poseidon Desalination plant and San Onofre as exhibits 1 and 2! — and the likes of Chumley are absolutely useless at fighting these battles, although they are useful as a “fifth column” within the Democratic Party undercutting them.
While I understand that there is little love lost for Darrell Issa on the LOC blog – I doubt that there are many honorable Dems who would stoop to the level of Diamond’s disgusting comparison of that loyal American of Lebanese decent and member of the US House of Representatives to the murderous scourge organization that calls itself ISIS. The following is from a Diamond OJB blog post:
“Hey, let’s switch the last two letters (of ISIS) … This yields a perfectly serviceable acronym: “ISSA.” (Switching the letters was attempted before, but “ISSI” sounds no more fearsome than “ISIS,” as it evokes “Sissy,” “Missy,” “Prissy,” “Hissy,” and other similar words that don’t sound terroristic.) ”ISSA,” though, sounds mean — in fact, it sounds like a real PISSA!
D. YOU THINK THAT WE’RE JUST BEING CHEEKY HERE.
BUT WE’RE NOT. HERE ARE SEVERAL REASONS WHY.
OJB can anticipate the concern that some of you in our main readership base may have: Is using this superior acronym unfair to Rep. Darrell Issa? Some answers:
Seriously? You’re asking that SERIOUSLY?
Who cares? Is Issa about to lose his election if his name matches that of a terrorist group?
More people worship Isis than worship Issa anyway.
More seriously, to avoid confusion “Issa” won’t be in ALL-CAPS except in headlines, and where we will try to precede it with “REP.” or “PATHOLOGICAL LIAR” or “CONVICTED CAR THIEF.”
Yes, if it matters, it is a bit unfair — and yes, it would have been better if the terrorist group’s name could have been translated into something with the acronym ROHRABACHER or MCCAIN.
Anyway, Issa himself thinks that ISIS is now the greatest threat to the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East, so he should be willing to make some personal sacrifices. And, let’s bear in mind, giving them a name like this can only help to discredit them.
OK, seriously seriously: your author’s trying to figure out a puzzle to the “renaming ISIS” problem came first — and followed pretty much the progression above: keying in on “Assyria” and coming up with ISAS, then realizing the letters could and should be reversed, then cracking up laughing, aggravating his hernia, and having to lie down for a while. So some real pain went into this decision and you should respect that.
So, ISSA it is! If the terrorists are insulted by that comparison, they should have thought through the dangers before they got into the terrorism business.
Greg Diamond’s racist hatred shines through in his comments here. He is a disgusting human being.
“Racist hatred”? Huh?
At this moment, the media is in the midst of discovering what should have been obvious: that allowing “ISIS” to rebrand itself as “Islamic State” is not only insulting to Islamic states with which we want good relations, but also to Arizona State, Iowa State, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oregon State, Penn State, Washington State, and lots of other state universities like which it sounds. The name isn’t going to fly. We need s new one. “ISSA” — like “ISIS,” but substituting in the territory it claims in Syria and Assyria — is my best take on an appropriate name, and I reached the penultimate step in the process of finding a name (leading me to “ISAS”) before even realizing that it would end up landing me on the same name as Rep. Issa.
Call me partisan if you want — I admit that I wouldn’t suggest that the proper name for a terrorist group spelled out SANCHEZ or LOWENTHAL, though I might chuckle if some political opponent plausibly made it work — but racist? That’s just stupid — and trivializing towards actual acts of anti-Arab racism, several of which I believe Mike Tardif, who posts on Lib OC and Cunningblog as “junior,” actively supports.
Neoliberal OC sure has become a good place for “junior,” though — now that it looks more an more like Matt Cunningham’s home blog. With the invasion of the hooded ghouls, Chumley can finally be satisfied at having ruined Prevatt’s hard work building up his site’s credibility.
= = = = = = = = =
Chumley chimes in this morning:
Dan Chmielewski
September 2, 2014 at 9:45 am
Diamond’s rebuttal: 6,700+ words which is a signed confession of arrogance, personal attacks, and delusions of his place as a leader of the Party. It was posted early yesterday and went most of the day without comment.
To which I reply:
Greg Diamond
September 2, 2014 at 10:12 am
Lots and lots of people reading it, though. And note that a good portion of those 6700 words include repeating the text of this entire story for purposes of criticism — in this case, pulling it apart assertion by assertion.
Offering a response composed generalized insults, rather than engaging factual arguments offered , is about what one would expect from the “PR professional.” It’s so sad that some prominent Democrats, to their detriment, apparently listen to his advice (or that of whoever feeds him his stuff.)
Dan doesn’t allow those from off the site to post links, so people will have to find my Orange Juice piece by themselves.
UPDATE 2:
Continuing from Update 1:
Prominent Democrats listen to DAN’s advice?
Who told you that, Dan?
Spent Saturday meeting with four of them; took two phone calls yesterday morning and one at 8AM while sipping coffee after putting my wife on a jet to NY. I talk with lots of people Vern. Hate to burst your bubble.
You have plenty of errors, mistakes and assumptions in your post that I simply don’t have the time or energy to correct.
But I’ll do an easy one. I have met Arnold Forde. Once. Years ago. Quick handshake. I don’t have a shrine erected in my office to worship him. But when in doubt, you have no trouble writing fiction.
That observation would make me feel really bad — except that I HAVE NEVER SAID ANYWHERE THAT YOU HAD NEVER MET ARTHUR FORDE.
Here’s what I did say:
Chumley, though, has no actual party loyalty. He is loyal to the neoliberal faction of the party that he wants to take him seriously. He gives the appearance of loyalty to the Irvine Democrats — but scratch the surface and that looks more like loyalty to his hero, Republican public relations consultant and public money sump pump Arthur Forde. Forde’s actions tied an anchor around the political fortunes of Larry Agran in 2012 and may do so this year as well, though South County’s most prominent Democrat is gamely trying to kick free.
Where do you GET your ideas about what I have and haven’t written? It’s clearly NOT FROM READING.
I have to admit: I’m starting to feel a little vulnerable to the charge that I’m enjoying this a bit too much!
Update 1 is up: more chum from Chumley. He has decided on the tactic of baseless name-calling and avoiding discussion of substance. Given his strengths, this is probably a wise choice. Meetings of his advisors are presumably taking place today to plan next steps.
Update 2 on Part 2 is up: and it’s heart-wrenching. It turns out that Chumley can’t read!